Cons

Some say that vinyl is coming back into style. Did it ever go out of style? Listening to your favorite album on vinyl is the most timeless way to consume music (listening live and in person might be the only exception).

Audio Technica has established itself as one of the most trusted authorities in the audio world. Their headphones are world-renowned and after their continued success, they’ve branched out into other areas.

This time, we’ll be reviewing the Audio Technica LP60BT fully automatic belt driven wireless turntable. If you’re not familiar with terms like “belt driven” and “fully automatic”, don’t worry – we’ll cover all of that and more.

Keep reading our in-depth review to have all your questions answered about this turntable.

Watch this video to get a quick overview of the non-Bluetooth version of the AT-LP60BT:

Is The LP60BT A Good Entry-Level Turntable? – Absolutely!

The LP60BT is a fully-automatic belt-driven turntable. This would be an especially great option for you if you’ve never owned a turntable before. Since it’s fully automatic, you won’t even have to touch the stylus to listen to your records.

It has a super easy start/stop function that anyone can figure out. On the front, you’ll see the start/stop, RPM function, and a few other buttons.

Once the side of the record that you’re spinning is done playing, the tone arm will automatically lift up and return back to it’s starting position.

Since there aren’t very many modifications you can (or will need to make) it’s an especially great entry-level turntable.

Performance – Will My Vinyl Sound Awesome?

There are a few key things that will have a major effect on whether or not your turntable sounds awesome.

The quality of your turntable

Keeping your vinyl clean

Speaker quality

The LP60Bt passes the first two tests with flying colors. (Of course, you probably already have some external speakers that you enjoy. If not, you’ll need some for playing music out loud on this ‘table.)

Built-in Phono Preamp

A lot of turntables have output jacks for a phono preamp. The LP60BT comes with a built-in, pre-installed preamp. They basically prepare the analog signal from your turntable to be either played out loud on speakers – or boosted using an amp. In order to connect your turntable to external speakers or an amp – you’ll need a phono preamp.

When used in conjunction with an amp, the volume, clarity, and overall sound quality will sound significantly better. If you’d like to see a full, in-depth explanation, use the link here.

Keeping Your Records Clean

If you’re new to turntables and vinyl, you’ll want to make sure that you keep your records clean using a lint-free cloth or vinyl record cleaning kit. Here’s a link to one of the Best-selling Collector Protector cleaner kits on Amazon.

Keeping your vinyl clean is a big part of preserving your overall sound quality. If there’s a bunch of dust and/or other debris all over your vinyl – the diamond tip will scrape against the spinning record and cause interference.

If you’ve ever seen a movie where the character sets the needle down and you hear loud pops, clicks, and a scratchy noise – that’s partially due to an unclean record. It could also be due to using a low-quality record player.

Surface Noise – How Much Is Too Much?

The noise that’s caused by the needle dragging across your vinyl is called “surface noise”. Some surface noise is normal but it shouldn’t be so intrusive that it distracts you from hearing your music. Use the link here if you’re wondering how much surface noise is normal.

This turntable will have minimal surface noise and give you clear, full, audio playback.

Build – Material Durability and Stylus

The anti-resonance, die-cast aluminum platter helps reduce audio distortion and therefore elevate the quality of sound. The anti-resonance feature will help filter out unnecessary noise from mixing in with your record.

Elliptical Diamond Stylus

The replaceable elliptical stylus has a smaller diameter than other styles. What this does, is allow the stylus to track the higher frequencies without distorting the audio.

For an entry-level turntable, the LP60BT has a solid build design that’s designed to last and give you hours and hours of enjoyment.

Removable Dust Cover – Protect Your Turntable

We went over the importance of keeping your records clean, but the actual turntable should be clean too. This is where a removable dust cover comes in handy. It’s a clear plastic dust cover that you can leave up or down during usage.

When you’re not planning on using your turntable for a few days, make sure to flip the dust cover back down so you keep dust and other debris off of the die cast aluminum platter.

Bluetooth Performance – Are There Any Compatibility/Lag Issues?

You have the option to connect external speakers both using the Bluetooth connection or the standard analog audio jack (RCA outputs). For a pair of powered speakers like the M-Audio BX5 D2 Studio Monitors, you’ll need to use the RCA output cable adapter that is plugged into the back of the LP60BT.

If You Don’t Have Wireless Speakers…

If your speakers don’t have wireless capabilities, you’ll also need to use the included 3.5 mm to RCA adapter for listening that way. Some people prefer using a wired connection because it tends to have better sound quality than a Bluetooth connection. (If you’re someone who wants to go fully retro, that might be another reason to listen with a wired connection.)

On the other hand, if you have a pair of wireless headphones or earbuds, you can pair them with the record player and stream your vinyl wire-free. The same goes for wired headphones – you can plug them into the standard 3.5 mm headphone jack and listen that way. (Either way, you have options.)

Connecting Wireless Smart Speakers

Another great feature of this player’s Bluetooth function is that you can connect to wireless smart speakers such as the Sonos One.

Take a look at this video to see how to connect your wireless turntable to a Bluetooth device:

Not only can you pair your ‘table with smart speakers (like the Echo and Sonos One) but you can also pair it with your TV’s soundbar or other portable speakers.

Lag or Lag-Free?

Once your device/speakers are paired and ready to go, you can experience your vinyl completely wire-free. The low latency of the Bluetooth connectivity makes it convenient and easy to play music in multiple rooms. You will experience very little, if any wireless lag.

You can have your turntable store the pairing information on up to 8 devices. Without having to re-pair every time you want to listen on a different set of speakers or pair of headphones – it’s easy to switch right from the LP60BT.

Price – Is It Worth It?

For a quality turntable is this price range – you can’t go wrong. Some carry a price tag of $1000+, which makes the asking price for the LP60BT extremely reasonable.

The quality build, sound quality, and Bluetooth connectivity leave little to the imagination.

Even if you don’t have a pair of external speakers to connect it to – chances are, you already own a pair of headphones that you like.

That’s one of the best features about this ‘table. You can pair your wireless headphones and listen to vinyl. (Most turntables don’t have this feature.) If you’re an early riser or night owl, now you can listen without disturbing anyone else.

Just plug in or pair your headphones, put your record on the platter, and press start.

What’s The Final Verdict? – Should You Make The Investment?

I would highly recommend this to you if you have never owned a turntable, or are looking for an affordable upgrade to your current setup. The Audio Technica LB0BT wireless turntable would be a great addition to your audio setup. It’s easy to use, doesn’t take much previous knowledge to setup, (other than what you’ve learned here) and plays vinyl over a wireless connection.

Take a quick look at the review table below for a brief recap of everything that we’ve covered. The pros far outweigh the cons, especially for an entry-level record player. If you’d like to see more customer reviews, star ratings, and pricing info click here.

Have you owned an Audio Technica turntable before? What’s your current turntable setup? If you have any more questions, need some more clarification, or just want to leave a comment – feel free to leave them below. I always do my best to respond as quickly as I can.

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6 thoughts on “Audio Technica LP60BT – Wireless Turntable Review”

Dom,
Never heard of a Bluetooth stand alone turntable. I still have a big collection of records, the big stereo cabinet in the game room takes up the whole wall.
I see the only outputs are the 3.5 mm and Bluetooth, I would like to see other outputs for my sound systems in the media room. My son has a Bluetooth speaker that I might be able to borrow.
John

The LP60BT does include a 3.5 mm male to dual RCA male output cable (like this one). So it can be used as a stand alone Bluetooth player – or connected to external speakers with the included adapter.

(You will be able to use the speakers you already own that have RCA outputs with this turntable.) You could take that route, or you could try out the Bluetooth function and borrow your son’s wireless speaker, like you mentioned.

Hopefully that makes sense, it is a little bit confusing since the RCA outputs aren’t directly on the turntable.

I sadly had to get rid of my old setup due to space restraints. So i’m glad to finally find out about a compact wireless turntable that fits the bill of what I’m after. Hopefully my old Koetsu cartridge can give it that bit of a personal sound to it.

Sorry to hear that Dan, it can be a tough moment to let go of old audio gear (especially for sentimental reasons).

I’m glad you found our review. 🙂 The Audio Technica LP60BT would definitely be a great turntable to get your setup back up and running again. (If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to go very long without your favorite audio setup.)

I’ve heard lots of good things about Koetsu cartridges, I’m sure it’ll be a good fit! Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at our review, hope to see you here again!